Sunday, 8 September 2013

Project One: Listening to music in the modern world


Exercise: How would you define music?

To me, a piece of music is another media in which to tell a story.  However unlike the written or spoken word, music conveys only the feelings and emotions of the story, not the facts.  For example Beethoven’s Fur Elise (1810) was thought to be written about a lost love and reflects the ‘ups and downs’ of relationships; much the same as Adele’s Rolling in the Deep (2010).  Although these pieces are vastly different in genres and style, both pieces, in their own way, reflect the raw emotion of the subject.

LISTENING LOG:

RESEARCH POINT:  Record all of the music you hear in one week.

Whilst keeping a log of all of the music I heard throughout one week, I was surprised to discover that we are exposed to a wide range of genres.  Throughout the week I have noted hearing various genres of ‘world music’, rock, jazz, pop classical and many others.   Although we make a conscious choice to tune into certain radio stations and listen to our favourite mp3’s, we encounter a range of other genres through advertising, TV shows and films. Whilst out shopping I noticed the styles of music that we hear in different shops and the psychological effect this has on us.  For example, in young fashion stores, we are usually subjected to loud chart music, whilst in department stores aimed at a broader age range, we often hear a more commercially produced and non-offensive ‘modern classical’ style, often referred to as ‘musac’.  I also heard this style of ‘musac’ whilst I was placed on hold during a phone call, which suggests to me that this style of music is aimed to soothe and calm us in what may be a stressful situation.  

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